Pick that flower
by bublinka
Summary: Another after-the-vault story.
1. Chapter 1

After they touched the big Vault chest, everything disappeared: the light, the gravity, their senses. Rhys felt the usual nausea stirring inside of him not unlike on their spaceship trip. Concentrating on keeping his stomach's filling inside he closed his eyes. And all of a sudden the gravity returned, greeting him with a loud "thud!" as he met the ground.

Gaining his wits, Rhys opened his eyes. The ache in his side momentarily became unnoticeable as he gazed around in awe. He was in the middle of a colorful jungle forest. He got up, adrenaline pumping through him and numbing his pain.

Something was amiss.

"Fiona?" Rhys called, looking around. Should they not be teleported in the same place?

"I see you're up at last," Fiona answered, showing her face between the long feather shaped leaves in front of him. "I walked around for a bit - there is that damned forest everywhere."

"Was I out long?" Rhys wondered. He did not notice that for sure. "Did you try to wake me?" It stung that she seemed to not care about his state.

Fiona came nearer, and he noticed she had her gun ready. A worried expression flicked across her face, seasoned with a shameful red color on her cheeks.

"You had no serious damage," she explained. "I tried to check the neighborhood for potential dangers, but obviously there is none." She put the gun into her sleeve, and walked around impatiently. "Do you get any signal?" She asked hopefully.

It was worth checking. Rhys stretched out his right hand, running the network searching process. Nothing. As if they were out in the wild, far from civilization. Oh, wait, they were.

Rhys sighed. "No network accessible. Shit, I've never seen that before. Even in Pandoran desert, there was a signal from Helios."

Fiona's eyes widened. If Rhys did not know her, he would have thought she was afraid. His words about staying alive after opening the Vault were a bitter memory.

He would not lose hope, not so soon.

"The forest must end somewhere. All these green leaves and all, there must be some water. Let's find it." He suggested, trying to sound confident.

"All right. Can you use that metal arm of yours to cut through the greenery?" Fiona replied. Rhys nodded with a small smile, as his was glad to see her decisiveness return.

The chose the direction by going where their eyes were set. Rhys in the front, destroying the local flora ruthlessly, and Fiona following his steps, keeping her eyes open and her ears strained.

After some time the plants changed: the lianes were gone and it became easier to move around. The tall trees were still surrounding them, but at least it was now possible to see the ground under their feet.

"It reminds me of the forest in that Atlas facility. Hopefully, we'll find fruits." Rhys remarked casually.

Fiona sighed, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "Hopefully, we don't find any man eating flowers. I have few bullets."

"Man eating what?" Rhys exclaimed, his voice unnaturally high.

"Flowers. You were lucky not to meet them then." Fiona answered, speeding up her pace to walk alongside him.

Rhys couldn't help remembering that adventure. Then, they were separated, but now they walked side by side. Were they the only people in that place? What future was out there for them?

"I say, if the Vault of Traveler was meant...for, well, travels?" He wondered out loud. "Travels to other planets? What if there is no civilization here? We could be like Adam and Eve." He smiled widely at the shock in her eyes. "Populate the planet, y'know." Rhys stopped and looked at her, awaiting the answer.

Shock, doubt, irritation all mixed in Fiona's face. Finally she frowned at the man before her.

"You should've brought that 'someone else' of yours for that purpose." She replied forcefully. "If she exists." Fiona added under her breath.

Rhys lifted his eyebrows in disbelief. He could get offended by her harsh words, but he chose not to. It was a stressful situation they were in, and they could not afford quarrelling.

"I thought you've got me then." He offered peacefully, in that charming manner of his.

Fiona looked up, searching his face for answers. "Excuse me?"

She did not get his hints, he realized. His heart beat wildly as he saw the moment came. The moment he speak plainly and confess his feelings. His cynical mind couldn't help assessing the situation: he was in the middle of nowhere, they could be dead in several days, or, hours, and he was afraid to tell her that...

"...there, before the Vault, I was talking about you." He said in a quiet voice, watching her fondly.

Fiona stared at him, not at all convinced. "Yeah, like I would ever believe it." She drawled, somewhat disappointed. She turned away from him and continued walking into the forest.

"Is it that hard to believe?!" Rhys called out loudly, as he hurried to follow her. "Really?!"

Fiona remained silent. He felt like drowning. What an impossible woman!

"Look, it's classic," he tried to begin once more, calmly, patiently. "After all we had suffered together, after all those adventures, ups and downs, imminent danger and pending threat, how could I not fall for such strong, decisive and smart woman like you? You were my support in that crazy ride, you were the shrine of sanity and common sense amongst the madness, the fearless guardian angel guiding me through the hot Pandoran hells..." He was talking sincerely, but later he would have to admit he got a little carried away buy his innate eloquence.

"Are you kidding me?" Fiona interrupted him with a scowl. "Is that supposed to sound seriously?" She paused in her walking, turning to face him. "If you really care about me, prove it." She stared at him hard, challenge in her eyes.

What was he expected to do? Rhys felt as if she was enchanted by some evil witch and couldn't see him in true light. The fairytale forest only enhanced the feeling. Well, he thought, what worked with Sleeping Beauty, might work with Beauty-in-denial.

It was not at all like he had pictured their first kiss, Fiona all stern and angry, not anticipating and fluttering, as he imagined it should happen. In fact, it didn't happen at all.

Because he felt her gun pressed into his chest as he leaned down to her face.

"Don't you dare touch me." Fiona hissed.

Rhys stepped back, an irritated frown on his face. That was too much.

"All right, that's it!" He snapped, waving his arms in agitation. "That's it! I don't know what's gotten in your head, but I'm not participating! I'm outta here!" And he stormed away, not even looking where he headed.

His mind fumed, he felt disgraced, devastated. He heard her steps behind, but no way he would ever look at those coldblooded, full of herself,...

"Rhys," he heard her cry, "Rhys-"

He smacked his forehead against a tree trunk.

"-a tree." Fiona ended her sentence, covering her mouth, her eyes wide with fear for him.

The sound was the worst, in fact. Shaking his head and putting his hands on the tree for the support, Rhys got up to look at her. Her big green eyes were so scared, that he was almost ready to forgive her.

"It's okay." He replied to her unvoiced question.

Fiona hesitated for a moment, glancing at her feet. "I... I should not have pointed my weapon at you..." She muttered, finally mastering the courage to look back at his face. The red spot on his forehead was getting worse.

Rhys saw her eyes linger on his forehead for some time, but then something above his head got her attention.

"Look!" She whispered, pointing at what appeared to be a glowing blue flower that was growing on the tree.

A wry smile appeared on his lips. He might not have seen the man eating flowers in the Atlas facility, but these flowers he remembered well. The admiration in her eyes gave him an idea.

Stepping back, he reached up and picked the flower which was growing too high for Fiona. Then he put his hand down in front of him, and Fiona stretched out a hand to take it.

"Wait," he whispered, holding the flower down at his side until it spit the yellow liquid on the ground and on his trousers. Smiling at Fiona's surprised 'oh', Rhys held out the flower to her: "Here."

Fiona took it with her both hands, amazed by the miraculous light coming from the petals. The way Rhys handed her flower and that unpleasant yellowish substance staining his left leg got her thinking.

"You know... I am similar to that flower in many ways." Fiona confessed, lifting her head to meet his gaze. "Not as nice as you expect."

"Yeah, you are." Rhys admitted with a soft laugh. "But you have already spit on me today, haven't you?"

She smiled guiltily. Shaking her head, Fiona spoke with certain amount of passion coloring her tone: "I have. Forgive me. I'm usually very good at telling whether a person is honest or not, that's what I do for a living. But you... I always misread you. I'm afraid you're just toying with me, I refuse to believe you not be disappointed later."

Rhys covered her hands with his.

"And why is that? I need you to say it, Fi."

Their eyes locked. Rhys watched her, waiting for those words to come out of her trembling lips.

"Because I care about you." Fiona whispered, close enough for him to feel her breath. He needed to get even closer. He needed that with his whole being.

Rhys cupped her face with his left hand urging her to come closer with his metal arm around her shoulders. It could be a little rough, but noone cared, as their lips met. The flower crumpled between them and fell down as Fiona clutched Rhys' both upper arms with her hands, as he deepened the kiss.

When they parted to get some air, Rhys realised he was supporting himself on the tree by his right arm above Fiona's head, who was pressed tight between the trunk and his own body. Her eyes were big and absolutely stunning as she stared at him in awe.

"Oh my..." Rhys groaned as he reached for her lips again...

"Guys, guys, I've found you!" A child like voice startled them, and then Gortys appeared in front of them, causing them to jump apart.

"So, well, eh... It's not another planet I guess?" Rhys managed to say running a hand through his wettened hair.

"No, it's Pandora! But since you've entered the Vault it turned all greeny!" Gortys exclaimed happily. "I thought I lost everyone, but now I think we'll find everybody!" And with those words she waved her tiny hand to encourage them to follow.

"Let's go," Rhys took Fiona's hand and pulled her gently towards the robot.

Fiona swallowed, and asked him hesitantly in a low voice: "Do you think she saw anything?"

Rhys shrugged his shoulders. "I-"

"Don't worry, I took pictures! I missed nothing!" Gortys replied cheerfully.

Rhys arched an eyebrow at Fiona. She only shook her head sighing: "Lead the way, Gortys."


	2. Chapter 2

"Do you really know the way to the Vaughn's facility, Gortys? Thank heavens we met you," Fiona said in a relieved tone, as the marched through the jungle. Rhys was walking the last, watching Fiona's back. Well, wasn't she behaving as if nothing happened? He was still a little light-headed, but Fiona seemed to be her usual self.

It was unsettling, he had to admit. He couldn't deny that it was easier when they thought they were alone on some abandoned planet, clinging to each other in despair and longing for safety and support. He was even doubting she would ever open herself like that if she was not sure he was the only other human left. Rhys would have called the notion bitter and humiliating if not for the feeling of her breath, her lips, her scent still lingering in his senses. It was worth it, even if she would never mention it again. He couldn't help grinning widely. It happened, no matter what came next, it did happen.

Gortys led them through the wild Pandoran flora, never ceasing her lighthearted chatter. She explained them how the Loader Bot took two spare parts of her while upgrading her, and put one part in the facility and the other one into his own core, so she could always find both. She told them how she found her robot friend and he told her to search for them, Rhys and Fiona, and how happy she was to find them together, so she didn't need to choose between them.

"And if you had to, who would you choose to find first?" Rhys asked, casting competitive glance at Fiona. If they were to resume their previous bickering relationship, he would oblige. Fiona noticed that, but only rolled her eyes, which, of course, remained unknown to the man behind her back.

"I would turn on my random number generator, and for the values lower than 0.5 go for Rhys, and for the values bigger or equal 0.5 go for Fiona." Gortys elaborated.

"So, just flip a coin?" Rhys nodded casually.

"What does that mean?" Gortys asked eagerly.

Rhys waved his arms trying to depict uncertainty. "Y'know, take a wild guess, try your luck, cast lots..."

Gortys stopped. Turning back to Fiona and tugging at her sleeve, she wondered: "What does Rhys want to say?" Those expressions were evidently not familiar to the young robot.

Fiona smiled slyly, and it looked like a bad sign to Rhys. "Don't worry too much, Gortys, Rhys has just banged his head, it'll pass. Or not." Shooting a victorious glance at him, Fiona made a small gracious nod of her head, touching her hat with two fingers. Rhys frowned.

But Gortys was too kind and caring to let it go. "Oh, Rhys, are you injured bad?" She looked at him sympathetically.

Rhys shook his head lightly, his face softened. "I'm alright, sweetie, don't worry." He replied.

An amused look appeared on Fiona's face at his choice of words. "Sweetie, huh?" She arched an eyebrow at him.

Now, she had just bumped into that one. "Yeah, like in 'sweet little thing'," Rhys answered matter-of-factly. " If nobody calls you that it doesn't mean the word became obsolete." And grinning boyishly he walked past her, silent for onc. Smooth.

It appeared to be a long journey by foot. They rested, ate fruit that was fortunately found, but then the night began to gather.

"We need to stop for the night, I have to save my batteries, and you... probably, too." Gortys suggested. "I will go in the sleep mode, and in the morning you wake me, okay? There's a button with a picture of the moon on my head." She tapped her finger there. And then Gortys regained her spherical form, glowing ever so slightly in the dark night jungle forest. It was a beautiful, otherworldly sight.

Rhys and Fiona sat down, not far from the sleeping robot and each other, suddenly silent, mesmerized by the scents and the sounds of the untouched wildlife. Gortys lights gone, they barely saw each other in the delicate pink shades that were cast by the setting sun and the cute metal ball lying quietly at their side.

Rhys tracked his eyes back to Fiona's face. She was so peaceful, safe for her hands, fumbling with the interlaced fingers. She cast occasional glances at him, unsure, but needing. He gave her his best reassuring face. In that fairytale dusk, the day's banter and tiring walking gone, the desire to be close to her once again grabbed him.

"Rhys..." She began finally, not quite looking at him.

"Yes?"

"I-I need...need you..." His heart leapt high. "...to do something..." Fiona turned her face, and those pleading eyes quenched all the doubt arising in his head when he heard her last words. He nodded.

"Promise, you'll do it." She insisted.

"I will."

The tough, determined look returned to her face. "Rhys, I need those photos deleted."

He felt his jaw falling down. Was it how the victims of her con felt like? What had he agreed to do?

"But how? She's offline, we can't do that!" He protested, albeit weakly. He had promised, damn her.

"I don't know! Maybe she has some memory card?" Fiona looked displeased. "You're the computer guy, you're Atlas just as her, do something!"

Rhys frowned. This was too much. "Okay, let me tell you this: I will not hack into Gortys' mind, and furthermore, I will not crack her open to see if she has a memory card!" He exhaled in disbelief. "She is our friend, Fiona, you can ask her to delete it." Rhys added more calmly.

Fiona turned away, but he could notice a glimpse of shame in her features. "I can't."

"What's the big deal?" Rhys asked her, perplexed by her unexpected reaction.

"It's hard to explain." She muttered stubbornly, lowering her head to her knees.

"Care to try?" Rhys encouraged her softly.

Fiona raised her head and stared at him, seeming surprised by his attentiveness. The resolve was back in her green eyes, as she gathered herself.

"Well, it's like... you know, if you sing in the shower, and you're totally okay with that, but...you don't want your friends to have the recordings... You see?" Fiona ended helplessly.

"You mean you're embarrassed." Rhys summed it up a bit gloomily. He was not happy with where that all was leading. And it was totally heading into a "sorry-it-was-a-mistake" thing.

"Yeah, I guess." She breathed out. She watched him sympathetically, which caused an unpleasant sickening feeling in his stomach, as he awaited her saying that 'sorry'. It was not the first time he got himself into this type of situation, but this time was in fact different, because no alcohol was involved in the kissing part. And that hurt even more.

Still, she remained silent.

"I think I get your meaning." Rhys decided to get the matter into his own hands. The longer he allowed himself to dream, the more trouble it would do him once the dream was gone.

Fiona stared at him, hard, strained look in her eyes. The kindness was not present in her features anymore.

"Oh, you do, do you? You don't, you arrogant ass!" She snapped, her voice pained and broken. "You're so full of yourself, you can't even imagine this being about me!" Fiona's cheeks flushed red, as she finally managed to open herself to him. "I'm embarrassed because I'm not used to be in that kind of relationship." She took a pause to catch her breath. Rhys couldn't take his eyes from her. He had never seen her so vulnerable, so moved, so... damnably dashing.

"I'm doubting everything, I'm not sure I can handle it, I..." Fiona hugged her own knees hunching her back. She sighed. Rhys wanted nothing more than to hug her, but she looked a bit defensive, and he didn't dare disturb her further.

"My head is filled with that shit," Fiona confessed, looking back at him finally. "Really, you may want to reconsider your... intentions." She suggested, not without struggle.

"No way." Rhys replied without thinking, his heart pacing quicker as he saw her eyebrows dart high, her lips part in surprise. "I want that shit, all of it." Her blush was his best reward.

"Rhys..." She shook her head in disbelief. "Sorry, that I yelled at you." Fiona seemed to suddenly feel very tired, as she shifted her body ro sit on her heels, her shoulders relaxed.

He smirked at her, relaxing as well, resting his forearms on his knees, his legs long enough to support him even when bent in the knees.

"Really? You've punched me, you've spit on me, hey, you nearly shot me today, and you apologize for yelling?" He laughed.

"You deserved all that!" Fiona retorted haughtily. That made him laugh even harder. Rhys covered his eyes with his left hand, as the tears appeared in his eyes. He tried to wipe them, but winced when he accidentally brushed his fingers on his bruised forehead.

Fiona noticed it. "Gosh, I have the first aid gel, I should've remembered it before!" She realized, and reached for the pocket on her leg. "Let me help you." She took out the tube, and moved forward to him, crawling on her knees.

Laughter soon died in Rhys' throat as he found her standing in front of him, between his legs, towering over him, as she stood on her knees, applying the gel to her palm. It was strange to look up at her, as she was shorter than him, but it had advantages. Rhys swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry, as he realized she was breathing in a couple of inches from his nose. Right there. Moving up and down. Breathing.

"Look at my face, you," Fiona scolded him playfully, and he followed the instructions. She massaged his forehead gently, the prettiest smile on her face, that he still saw in the dark due to their closeness. The gel felt cool, but maybe it was just a contrast with his burning skin.

"Better?" She asked.

Rhys smiled. "Yeah, you know I have a scratch from some sharp tree part, here on my chin. Can you take care of it too?"

"Okay, turn you head up a bit..." Fiona opened her tube again.

Then everything happened too quickly. Rhys leaned back on his metal arm to give her better access, but he forgot she would have no support as she followed his movement. Fiona lost her balance, and didn't grab his shoulders at first, for she was still aware of her greasy hands... Without much thinking Rhys steadied her with his left hand on her waist. "Gotcha." He grinned.

Fiona forgot how to breath for several seconds. "Your chin." She muttered somewhat later, clinging to the words as to the last reasonable thing in the world. Rhys offered her his face eagerly.

"Hey, it's done. You've got a stubble." Fiona remarked, as her fingers stroked his cheek absentmindedly. "Do not even think of touching my face with that." She warned him cockily.

Rhys feigned a wounded expression. "You hurt my manly pride, Fiona." He stated solemnly.

She grinned wickedly. "If I wanted to hurt your manly pride, I'd do it with my knee." She teased him, reminding him of his vulnerable position. To clarify her point further Fiona brushed her right knee along his inner thigh, making his hand clutch her and his jaw drop open. He cleared his throat.

"Wh-what happened t-to that not-being-sure thing?" He asked her, his breathing labored, his pulse humming in his head.

"I don't know, I'm not sure," Fiona laughed happily, as she withdrew from his embrace easily, because he was too stunned to counteract.

Rhys watched her go into the dark of the night, his world turning upside down. He swiped his sweated nose and sighed.

"We should be sleeping already, Hyp..." Fiona broke her sentence remembering he was Atlas now, "...ersensitive man." She ended her phrase differently.

Rhys snickered. "The only hypersensitive part of me is my warm and forgiving heart. And not what you meant, you dirty girl."

"Oh, okay. There is a good spot for sleeping here, without much grass. Are you coming?" She called him in a sweet voice.

"No no no, thank you, I'm quite comfortable here," he hurried to answer. He was not going near her again, that sensitivity being the reason. He knew that she knew that.

"All right. Good night," Fiona said kindly. "And, Rhys? That kiss - you deserved it too." She added in a shy voice.

"Good to know... sweetie." Rhys smiled happily as he finally closed his eyes, curling in the grass.


End file.
